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The phosphate company announced skyrocketing profits this quarter — more than four times what they were a year ago.

Plymouth, Minn.-based Mosaic, which has operations in southeastern Hillsborough County, reported earnings of $862.5-million from March through May, compared to earnings of $202.6-million the same quarter in 2007.

The company attributes the added profits to higher demand for fertilizer to help grow produce and grain for food and fuel.

"We believe crop nutrients are now more essential than ever. They play a critical role in optimizing crop yields, helping meet the world's surging demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel," Mosaic president Jim Prokopanko said in a statement.

Earnings for the fiscal year were $2.1-billion, an increase of about $1.7-billion from last year's earnings of $419.7-million. Mosaic owns about 25 square miles of land in southeastern Hillsborough County. The company is one of the largest phosphate producers in the world.

Mosaic's financial growth comes on top of physical growth. Mosaic is building a 100,000-square-foot building near FishHawk Ranch to serve as the headquarters for its phosphate business unit and supply chain. About 400 employees from across Central Florida will work at the new building.

It will be on 7.4 acres on the south side of FishHawk Boulevard, just east of Bell Shoals Road. The location was determined after the company studied where many of its employees live.

"The FishHawk Ranch area was the bull's-eye," Mosaic vice president Rich Krakowski wrote.

Jessica Vander Velde can be reached at jvandervelde@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2443.